Action/Adventure Aficionados discussion

One Second After is our September group read. Feel free to join the discussion!

I've been rather fascinated by apocalyptic stories since I was a kid. As with most things, 90% are crap, but some are great & I've reread them over the years. I'm always fascinated by what remains for the survivors since they're a reflection of the times the author lives in.

The earliest I've read recently is The Last Man (1826) by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. It's a slog, but the end was pretty good. Everyone dies of a plague, but the guy abandons his dog.

I'm going to read The Scarlet Plague (1912) by Jack London this month, too. Seems as if it might be a slimmer, updated version of Shelley's.

Earth Abides (1949) by George R. Stewart has a really chilling end as we descend into ignorance despite all efforts to educate the surviving children after most are wiped out by disease. I Am Legend (1954) is another where disease kills us off.

At the end of the 50s & into the 60s, we ruin our civilization with atomic warfare. On the Beach (1957), Alas, Babylon (1959), & A Canticle for Leibowitz (1959) all show that.

This book is somewhat different & its point of the complexity & fragility of our supply lines has been made quite clear by the pandemic. Another book that makes this point is The Harrows of Spring: A World Made by Hand Novel. I didn't like it as much, though.

Jim wrote: "I've been rather fascinated by apocalyptic stories since I was a kid. As with most things, 90% are crap, but some are great & I've reread them over the years. I'm always fascinated by what remains ..."

Thanks Jim for all your recommendations...I need to check them out! I have always loved post-apocalyptic stories and man's extreme ability to survive no matter what's thrown at him. One of my very favorites is the "Hell Divers" series https://www.goodreads.com/series/1839...

Is anyone reading this? What did you think about the various shortages?